After Twilight
by paper pixi
Summary: Nathan lets his pride get the better of him as Haley is slowly getting her heartbroken every time. There’s only one thing that can make him realize how much she means to him but will it be too late? [Ch. 4—Trouble]
1. friendly encounter

**AFTER TWILIGHT**  
_Chapter One: Friendly Encounter_

- - -

**Author's Notes:** This is my first One Tree Hill fanfic. Any flames should be directed to me in e-mail. Other than that, comments, questions, suggestions, etc. would be greatly appreciated in a review. Also, I've altered this a bit to fit into my liking. (This _is_ fanfiction, after all.) So, everything after this chapter is going to be what's going on in my imagination. :)

**Disclaimer:** One Tree Hill is not mine, nor will it ever be.

- - -

"It's not that."

Haley James was silent for the next few minutes as she stared down at her plate. Really, why did she even bother? What had she honestly expected for him to say when his friends had asked him if they were on a date or not? That it was _indeed _a date? That he, the star of it all, was out with her, the tutor girl? The girl who was also best friends with his unwanted half-brother?

_No, of course not,_ she thought bitterly. But then why did it hurt her so much? If she knew the answer, then she should have been expecting it. It shouldn't have hurt.

"Haley?"

She looked up at him after letting out a loud sigh. The look on his face was one of worry; he was afraid of what she would do next. Quietly, she began to speak her mind.

"Does it really hurt your pride that much to be seen with me in public like this, Nathan? Does it?" she asked softly. She tried her best to sound calm about the whole thing, and so far, she was doing a pretty good job of it. "Because if it does, I could just leave right now and we could forget about all of this."

"I told you," he said. "It's not that."

"Then what is it? Would you mind telling me?" she retorted resentfully.

Nathan found that he couldn't respond to her questioning. All he could do was look at her, hoping that she could somehow read him through his eyes. Unfortunately, she didn't catch it.

"I'm going to go," she said quickly as she stood up from her chair. "I'll see you tomorrow."

He was just as quick to jump out of his chair to stop her. "Wait, Haley. You're getting this all wrong. Don't leave."

"_I'm_ getting this all wrong?" She let out a quiet, bitter laugh. "You really think that _I'm_ the one getting it all wrong? Nathan, take a good look of yourself the next time before you say that."

Nathan's gaze on her became more rigid, causing her to flinch briefly beneath him. Once again, he did not know what to say to her. Was he really the one who was getting it all wrong?

He snapped out of his thoughts when he suddenly felt her brushing past him, making her way to leave. On instinct, he reached out to grab her arm. She slowly turned around, staring at him.

He freed her arm before allowing himself to talk. "Please, at least finish dinner with me. I'll walk you home after that, and then you can be mad at you all you want."

With one look to his eyes, Haley gave in and sat back down.

Silence took over the rest of the evening.

- - -

"Earth to Haley?" Lucas said as he waved his hand in front of her face. "Hellooo? Anyone there?"

"Oh," came the soft reply.

"You all right there, Haley?"

She looked at him, and then moved over to another corner of the counter, continuing to clean it spotless. "Sorry, Lucas, I didn't hear you come in here." She stopped for a minute and looked up at her best friend, smiling sweetly. "So, what do you need?"

"Need? No, I don't need anything. Just wanted to see how you were doing. You okay?"

Her smile faltered as she rolled her eyes playfully. "Thanks for your concern, but I'm fine. Really." She then went back to her job, hoping that he would buy it and ignore the whole thing.

Skeptic, Lucas raised an eyebrow. "You sure?"

She stopped and glanced up. Looking him straight in the eye, she said, "Of course. I mean, what do I look like to you now? Sad? Angry? Stupid?"

"Okay, okay," Lucas said slowly as he nodded, though still skeptical. "Okay." He turned around to look out at the windows. The instant he looked out, he had regretted it. "Look who's coming," he jeered as his face hardened. "The king of all assholes himself."

Haley looked up and saw Nathan approaching the shop. She already knew it was him, so she didn't know why she had even bothered to look up. "Are you going to leave?" she asked.

"Yeah," Lucas replied over his shoulder. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay," she said. "Bye, Luke."

He made a move to walk out the door just as Nathan made a move to come in. Lucas decided to slide off to the side and allow him in first. Nathan entered, and Lucas left with no words exchanged.

With his hands in his pockets, Nathan looked around the shop. It wasn't until a few minutes later that he decided to greet her with a casual "Hey."

Haley seemed lost in her world of wiping tables. "Hi."

"So..." he started, obviously trying to make a conversation, "are you busy tonight?"

It took her a while to answer. She wasn't sure if she wanted to lie about this or not. But before it even registered in her mind, she answered, "Yes."

His usual cocky posture seemed to go slump for a bit. "Oh... well, what about tomorrow?"

She didn't know why, but the conversation was beginning to irritate her. Why did he want to know anyway? If she ended up saying yes, he would no doubt ask her to hang out. And knowing her considerate nature, she would eventually give in, and in the end, get hurt once again. What was the point? Why set herself up again?

"I don't really feel up to it," she said honestly, with an anger-free voice.

Nathan sighed. "Haley, come on. Don't be like this. You know I'm sorry."

"As you were a lot of other times before," she replied easily. "This isn't the first time, you know. You can't just keep expecting people to forgive you when you apologize to them."

He slowly took in what she had just said to him. Everyone else, with the exception of her and Peyton, had always forgiven him when he apologized. So why was it that she didn't want to accept it?

"Haley, I'm sorry, okay? I'm sorry I screwed up. Don't give up on me now. What do you want from me?"

She turned to him, her face solemn. "The truth, Nathan, the truth. I don't want your apology, I want to know the truth. If you can tell me that much, I'll be happy."

"The truth?" he asked, echoing her as if he had clue what she was talking about.

"Yeah, the truth," she said firmly. "Why are you so humiliated to be seen with me when your friends are around?"

"I'm not. It's not humiliation, really... whatever it is, I'm sorry. I don't mean it, but you are just my tutor, after all."

_Right,_ she thought, _just a tutor._ "And that's the truth?"

He seemed hesitant to nod. "Yes."

She followed his suit, nodding. "Okay then. Good, thank you."

It was surprising how loud silence could be against his ears. He didn't know what else to say. "Are you busy tonight?"

"You already asked me that," she said. "I said yes."

"Well, you might've been lying to me."

"I wasn't. I have plans with Lucas tonight." Okay, so she was lying. But he didn't have to know, right? Besides, she wouldn't _exactly_ be lying if she'd ask Lucas later to go see a movie with her.

Surprisingly, Nathan backed off. "Oh, what are you guys doing?"

"Just a movie."

"Oh."

Haley put the dishtowel down and looked around the shop before clasping her hands together. "Well, it looks like we're going to be closing up pretty soon, so... you should probably get going."

Nathan moved aside and nodded. "Okay. I guess I'll see you later then." He walked towards the door, where he paused momentarily. He suddenly turned back to look at her, and waved. "Bye, Haley."

"Bye." Haley gave him one wave of her hand before turning her back to him.

- - -


	2. used

**AFTER TWILIGHT**  
_Chapter Two: Used_

- - -

**Author's Notes** Thanks for all the wonderful reviews:) I'd thank each of you individually, but unfortunately, I lack the energy to type right now. I will, perhaps, start next chapter.

- - -

"Goodness, Brooke is such a bubble."

A low chuckle emerged from Lucas' throat as he turned his head to look at his best friend. He didn't quite agree with her statement, but it was nonetheless amusing to him. "How so?" he asked.

Haley shook her head, turning over to look at him. "Luke, do I really need to make a list out for you?" She paused. "Well, actually, she's really not that bad, but that—"

"Hey Lucas, hey Haley," Peyton greeted as she approached them uneasily. "Um, is it all right if I talk to you for a minute, Lucas?"

Lucas glanced over at Haley, who immediately nodded her head. She understood. "Go ahead, Luke. I'll see you later anyway." She began to walk off, waving to them. "Bye!"

"Bye," both of them said in unison. They waved back before turning to each other, discussing whatever it was that had Peyton so uncomfortable.

_God,_ she thought, _I am so tired..._

Not exactly paying attention to where she was walking, Haley suddenly felt herself bump into someone. Quickly, without glancing at the person, she mumbled an apology and went off on her way again.

"Hey Haley! Wait!"

She stopped for a second, not even bothering to turn around. She didn't need to. She could recognize that voice from a mile away. Quietly, she waited for him to approach her. He was by her side within a few seconds.

"Hey, you busy later?"

She looked at him and held her hand above her eyes, covering it from the sun. "Um, I don't know. Why?"

He gave her a gentle smile. "I was just wondering after our tutor session tonight, if you would like to go and—"

"Hey! Nathan!"

Haley's face immediately fell.

Damn the timing. There was his friends again, always successful in ruining the moment. Nathan turned around at the beckoning call, and nodded his head at them in acknowledgement.

"Come on," one of them said. "Let's go."

Haley dropped her hand, bowing her head to the ground. She already knew Nathan's answer to them, so without another word, she walked off.

_I'm such a goddamn fool._

- - -

Haley stood outside of Nathan's door quietly as she rang the doorbell. She folded her arms over her chest, trying to warm herself up from the cold. Having nothing else to do while waiting, she looked around the place, unconsciously tapping her foot until Nathan answered the door.

"Hey," he said as he invited her in. "I'm glad you came."

Haley gave him a small smile as she stepped into his house. "Okay," she said. "What's on tonight's agenda?"

A sly grin touched his lips. "So that's up to me?" he joked, which immediately earned him a smack from his tutor. "I'm just kidding!" he chuckled, as he put both of his hands up in surrender.

"I know, but you still deserved it," she smiled. "Come on, Nathan. We have a lot to do tonight. The Civil War isn't going to be so easy to learn and explain."

"History stinks," Nathan complained as he lead her into the living room. "I really don't get why we need to learn it."

"Tell me something else I don't know for a change." She took a seat on the couch and bent over to grab the history book that lay on the table. "And you already said that. Remember what I told you?" When she caught him shaking his head, she explained, "So we're not doomed to repeat it again."

Nathan nodded his head slowly as if he finally remembered. "Oh, yeah. I remember now."

Haley opened the book and took in a deep breath before starting the tutoring session. "Okay, let's get going. We'll start with Fort Sumter."

- - -

Haley slowly shut her locker as she turned around, ready to head off to her first class. But before she was able to get away, she was stopped short by Nathan, who was standing before her with a grin on his face. She gave him a confused look.

"...What?" she asked him suspiciously.

His grin only widened. "Nothing, just saying... hi."

Haley gave him another confused look before shaking her head. "Hi..." she said as she brushed past him in a hurry. Nathan took a step and stood in front of her once again. She looked up at him. "Okay... do you need or want anything, Nathan? Because I have to get to class. I'm going to be late."

He laughed at her as if she had said something funny. "You have five minutes. But okay, here, let me walk you to class."

For the third time so far, in less than five minutes, she gave him another bewildered look. But at the same time, she was strangely flattered. "Um... okay."

But once again, she was stopped short when a group of Nathan's friends approached them; or rather, him.

"Nathan, what are you doing?"

She eyed him, wondering what he would do. Nathan didn't seem to have an explanation, especially after what happened the other night. Deciding to save him some trouble, Haley just walked away, heading off to class, and made it into her seat just as the bell rang.

- - -

She just couldn't seem to concentrate on her test. Behind her, two blonde girls sat, giggling and whispering annoyingly to each other as the others were testing.

_How rude,_ she thought. _No consideration whatsoever for the people who are testing._

She just wanted to stand up, turn around and tell them to shut up. Irritated, Haley looked back at them, glaring. The girls caught the hint and had shut up immediately.

For about a minute.

They resumed back to talking. This time, Haley was deeply interested in the conversation they were having—about her and Nathan.

"I heard that Nathan was only being nice to her because she's Lucas' best friend."

"What do you mean? If she's his best friend, then wouldn't Nath—"

"You don't get it. He's _using_ her to get back at Lucas. That's why he's so nice to her; to lure her in."

"Oh, I get it now."

She seemed to block out everything else that was said after that. But, could that be true? Besides tutoring, was Nathan really using her to his advantage? To get back at Lucas? It did make sense, she supposed, but would he really do that to her?

_Of course.__ Why else would he work so hard to get me as his tutor, when there are many others just as qualified?_ The thought seemed to bug her enormously. _Perhaps... maybe they are right..._

One of the girl's remarks snapped her out of her thoughts. "We'll see what happens though, won't we? I bet you it's going to end very soon."

_So do I,_ Haley thought, _so do I..._

- - -


	3. just a tutor

**AFTER TWILIGHT**  
_Chapter Three: Just A Tutor_

- - -

**Author's Notes** Happy Thanksgiving, everyone:)

- - -

It was like any other ordinary day.

Well, almost. The morning was a sunny, cool one as he walked into Tree Hill High, being greeted by everyone as usual. Everything was routine from the moment he woke up until now. But there was a change in his mood. He didn't know why, but unconsciously, he believed that it was because he hadn't seen her or talked to her since yesterday afternoon. It seemed as if she was avoiding him—ignoring him when he called out to her, not answering her phone, pretending she didn't see him when she past him in the halls.

What had he done? Was she ticked off about yesterday morning when his friends had interrupted them? Was she finally fed up with it all? It seemed reasonable, he guessed, but would she really take it that far? After all, she did leave before he was able to avert them. But wait, would he have really pushed them away to walk her to class? He thought about the answer to that for a moment, and winced at the honest truth he came up with. No, he wouldn't have. If she had stayed long enough, he would've left her there alone, completely humiliating her once again.

"Hey Nathan."

Nathan looked over his shoulder to the curly blonde-haired girl who his half-brother was smitten with. "Oh, Peyton, hey."

Just as he said that, Haley walked past by with her best friend right behind her tail. His face dropped into a frown. Peyton noticed it and looked over at Haley and Lucas, who were now at the locker. She looked back at him.

"What's wrong, Nathan?"

Nathan shook his head, slamming his locker shut. "It's nothing. I'm gonna get to class now. Gonna be late. Later."

Peyton waved to him just as Brooke appeared by her side.

"What's wrong with him?" the brunette asked.

Peyton only shrugged her shoulders.

- - -

"What's wrong, Haley? Come on, I know there's something wrong. You're not usually this pushy."

"I am NOT pushy!" she said harshly. "My day just started off like crap, that's all." She reached into her locker to grab her math book, which slipped out of her hands, dropping to the ground. When that happened, she glared at Lucas.

He retrieved her book for her. "What?" he asked as she continued to glare at him. "I didn't do anything!"

Haley closed her locker and let out a sigh.

"You look like you need a hug. If I give you a hug, you won't bite me, will you?" Lucas asked jokingly. It couldn't hurt, he figured, after all, he was only trying to lighten her up. And it worked.

She let out a little laugh. "I guess a hug wouldn't hurt."

Lucas leaned over and embraced her openly. It had been a while since Haley had been like this. And when she was, a hug from him usually calmed her down. Even if it was just a bit, it still worked.

She pulled away and began to head off. "Thanks, Luke. I have to get to class though. I'll talk to you later, okay? Bye."

Lucas stood there with a smile on his face as he waved to her. "Bye, Hales."

- - -

"All right, pop quiz."

Everyone in the class seemed to let out a groan except for Haley, who was prepared for it. As she got the quiz, she passed it back to the person behind her, stealing a glance at Nathan. She wondered if he was prepared for it. If he failed, it would be her fault. She had not arrived at the tutoring session last night. Not only that, she never replied to any of his calls. Staring down at her sheet of paper, guilt slowly began to eat her up.

About five minutes into the quiz, Haley looked back to see how he was doing. He was clicking his pen against his desk as if he was confused. Then suddenly, as if he felt her stare, he looked up, catching her eyes with his own. She immediately tore her eyes away from him, turning back around.

A few minutes later, the teacher had stepped out of the classroom to run a quick errand. Haley, now feeling horrible, once again looked back at Nathan. His head slowly raised up, catching her looking at him again. Her face had guilt written all over it, and as if he understood her apology through her eyes, he felt himself cheering up quickly. She was giving him some encouragement. He gave her a genuine smile, indicating that he would do just fine.

The class did not let that go unnoticed. When Haley turned back around, she saw everyone staring at her as if she had done something horrible. This time, Nathan decided to save her some trouble.

"What are you guys looking at her for?"

Immediately, all eyes were off her. And she looked back quickly one last time, smiling at him in gratitude before fully concentrating on her quiz.

- - -

It was finally lunch, and Haley had to practically drag herself out of the classroom. She was tired; Chemistry had been so boring, hearing the teacher lecture about principle quantum numbers and whatnot. When she got to her locker, she stuffed everything inside it before heading to the lunchroom.

"I feel so sick," she mumbled to herself as she scanned the lunchroom for Lucas. "But there's only two more periods left..."

"Hey Hales."

She turned around. "Oh, there you are Lucas." She headed over to him, and saw that Nathan had just turned around the corner, heading their way.

"Haley, tutoring—your place at seven tonight, right?" Nathan asked as he walked past her, "Oh, and thanks for the help during second period."

Haley nodded and turned back to Lucas when Nathan disappeared from her sight. He didn't look too happy. "Come on, Luke. It's all okay."

"Uh huh," he said skeptically. "And I suppose that I was to trust you when you told me that there would never be anything between you two besides tutoring."

Haley gave him an aggravated look. "It's not like I wanted it to happen, Luke. Things happen. Just like the things between you and Peyton. It wasn't expected, but it happens."

"That's different," he argued. "You never hated Peyton."

Exasperated, Haley decided to stop. "Let's just stop right here before we make a scene. We can argue about this later. This is not the time or place right now."

Lucas shrugged his shoulders as if he didn't care. "Fine."

- - -

"You got it!" Haley cheered over his shoulder as he placed his pencil down. "You're doing great! See, it isn't so hard, is it?"

Nathan shrugged his shoulders before turning back to look at her. When he saw her ecstatic face, he found that it was too hard to resist as a smile spread across his lips. "I learn from the best."

Haley pulled back from him and sat down on the ground with her legs crossed. Her bright face slowly faded away as one question came to mind. She hesitated to ask, strongly fearing his answer.

"Haley?"

She took in a deep breath before finally deciding to ask him. "Nathan, I need to ask you something... and you need to be honest with me."

He gave her a curious look before nodding. "Sure."

"Okay... I just need to know why were you so persistent to get me as your tutor in the beginning."

"What do you mean?"

She sighed. "Nathan, there were others just as capable as me, if not more. So why did you choose me out of all the others?"

He cracked a grin. "So saying that you're the best won't work?"

She frowned. "I'm being serious here, Nathan. There must've been a reason."

Nathan pulled back a little and stared blankly at her, wondering if she knew the true objective behind why he wanted her as a tutor. By the look on her face and with the fact of why she asked, Nathan was convinced now that she knew. But it wasn't like that. At least, not anymore.

He sat straight back up before explaining himself. "Okay, I know you know. And here's the truth: it started out that way, okay? I admit that. In the beginning, you were just a use for me to get back at Lucas. But it's not like that anymore."

Her face hardened. "Why? Because I know the truth now?"

He shook his head. "No, because you, Haley James, turned out to be more than I asked for. I'm not using you against Lucas anymore, I promise. You're a tutor, my tutor, and that's it. Just a tutor. You're nothing more or less than that."

She didn't know what to feel. Should she feel low that she was only a tutor? Or glad because she wasn't being used anymore? Whatever it was that she should've felt, confusion took over her at that moment.

_At least he was honest,_ was the only defense she had for him. _It's not like that anymore, he says. But that means that I was used. Even if it was only for a little while, his intention to start off with was to hurt Lucas, and in the process, me._

"Haley...?"

She looked up at him, finally snapping out of her thoughts. "You know, you're getting better each time with telling the truth."

His face dropped into perplexity. "Is that a good thing...?"

She nodded, somewhat moving her head in a dejected way. "Yeah, just keep that up, okay? Don't ever lie to me."

He was still confused, but decided that it was the best thing to agree. "Uh... okay."

_You're just a tutor, Haley,_ she told herself. _Just a tutor.__ It shouldn't hurt anymore._

But it did.

It hurt a lot.

- - -


	4. trouble

**AFTER TWILIGHT**  
_Chapter Four: Trouble_

- - -

**Author's Notes: IMPORTANT!** This fanfic was written nearly two years ago when One Tree Hill JUST started. So obviously, Nathan and Haley are not together/married in this fic. Honestly, I never expected them to get married... and quite frankly, I'm not too thrilled about the idea, but what can you do? Not much, except for writing fanfiction. So here's my version. Much more romance and angst to come—that's what it's all about.

Thank you all for being patient with me! I have no excuse for my lack of updates in nearly two years... so all I can give you are my apologies.

And now, I hope you enjoy.

- - -

_"Hey," he whispered into her ear, as his arm snaked around her waist. "I've missed you."_

_"I was only gone for a few hours," she said, smiling. "And I know you're lying. Now, what is it that you want?"_

_"What?" he asked incredulously. He pulled away from her, and turned her around to face him. "You don't believe me? Are you trying to tell me that I can't even be nice to my wife without being accused of—"_

_"Oh, please. Save me the dramatics, Nathan. I know you, and because I know you, I know that your romancing affections come at a price. And I think I know what you want now." She turned back around, knowing that she was being difficult and loving it. "But now is not the time."_

_A little girl, about eight years old, suddenly bounced into the kitchen. "Mommy! You're home!" she squealed._

_Smiling, Haley bent down to pick her daughter up. "Hey, were you a good girl for Daddy?" she asked._

_"Of course!" the little girl said with a grin on her face. "I'm always a good girl for Daddy."_

"Pssst! Haley? Haley! HALEY!"

Her eyes immediately flung open, and the sight that greeted her was an embarrassing one. She found that almost every possible pair of eyes within the room was staring at her. It was unnerving. Chuckling slightly in awkwardness, Haley sunk back in her seat as the teacher stared at her.

Beside her, Peyton was giving her a look of sympathy.

When had she dozed off? She couldn't remember.

"Are you okay, Haley?" Mr. Toney asked her in concern. Had it been any other student, he probably wouldn't have asked. But it was Haley who fell asleep, and she was one of his brightest students. He found it weird that she would snooze in the middle of his class.

"Oh, I'm fine, Mr. Toney. I'm sorry for dozing off like that..." she said quietly.

Mr. Toney gave her a smile and a nod. Then, turning back around, he continued his ramble on all things math-related.

The class ended half an hour later, and as Haley started to walk out towards the door, Mr. Toney stopped her short.

"Haley, can I please talk to you?" he asked.

Nodding dumbly in surprise (she hoped that he wasn't going to give her detention for sleeping), she came back in and stood in front of him at his desk. Nervous, she said, "I'm sorry for s—"

"Nonsense," he smiled. "Everyone's allowed an off day, Haley."

She let out a sigh of relief.

"I wanted to ask you something though," he said. "And you can decline this if you want, but I was wondering if you could tutor Ryan Chase? You do know him, right? The tall, blond-haired boy who sits in the back row with a bored-looking face every day?"

Haley nodded. How could she not? She had tutored him once before.

"And since you're tutoring Nathan, I figure that maybe you can add him on too? I'm not sure what areas exactly you're tutoring Nathan in, but with Ryan, it would only be for Math."

"That will be no problem, Mr. Toney," Haley said with a smile.

"Thank you, Haley. You may very well be Ryan's last savior."

- - -

"...so now I have to tutor them both."

"Wow," Lucas said with a chuckle. "Are you sure you can handle that, Hales? Two guys at once?"

The short brunette glared at her best friend. "Thanks for your help," she muttered. "I'm leaving now." She made a move to stand up, but was immediately pulled back down into her seat, where she landed with a big plop.

"You know I'm just kidding. I know you can do it."

Sighing, Haley stood back up with the dishtowel in hand. "Yeah, thanks. But seriously, Luke, Ryan and Nathan really don't like each other. Well... the hate's more on Ryan's side, but still, I—"

"You're worry too much, Hales," Lucas said lightly. "Just let things be. There's nothing much you can do to change the situation right now."

"I guess you're right. I can't change things now, but maybe I can change things when we all get together for the tutoring..."

"When is the next tutoring session anyway?"

Haley smiled over at Lucas. "Tonight."

- - -

"Haley! Telephone!"

"Got it, Mom!" Pause. "Hello?"

"Haley?"

"Nathan?"

"Yeah. Hey, I just wanted to let you know that I probably won't be able to make it to tutoring tonight. I have this thing with the guys that we've been planning for a while. I forgot to tell you that the other day."

"Oh." Was that disappointment in her voice? "Okay, that's all right. We can make it up another time."

"Great. Cool. Thanks, Haley. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye."

- - -

Her doorbell rang at precisely 6:15 PM. 15 minutes. He never changed. He was always 15 minutes late. Why she was timing it, she didn't know.

"Hey," she greeted as she opened the door.

"Hi," the blond-haired boy greeted back.

"So here we are again." Haley shut the door. "It's good to see you again, Ryan."

"Yeah, likewise," he said, cracking a small smile at her. "You must think that I'm really stupid needing help with Math again this year."

Haley shook her head. "No, you're hardly stupid, Ryan. You just don't pay attention in class, and frankly, I have to be honest, you're also lazy as hell. The problem is that you just don't care. Even if you were stupid, that would have nothing to do with it."

"That's you, Haley," he snickered, suddenly turning cynical. "You were always the one who tried to make things seem better than they really are."

"You know I don't lie," she remarked.

"No, but you sure as hell have the talent to twist the words around to make them sound good."

"What can I say, it's a gift." She paused and looked over at him seriously. "And the truth."

"And there you go again," he muttered under his breath. Haley promptly decided to ignore it. Ryan Chase was never an easy person to get along with, but she put up with it because she knew that despite his crude attitude, he desperately needed a friend. She had once been that friend... until their tutoring sessions ended.

Nearly 45 minutes after starting their session, the doorbell rang.

"It's probably the pizza man." Haley immediately got up, and ran over to the kitchen table where the money was located. When the doorbell rang again, she shouted. "Coming!"

As she opened up the door, it revealed the last person she had expected to see.

"Nathan?"

"Hey," he smiled down at her. "Guess I made it to tutoring, just a little bit late."

"Yeah..." she said, and Nathan noted that she didn't sound all too happy.

"What's the matter?" he asked. "Not thrilled to see me?"

"Ha ha," she said sarcastically. "Hurry up, just come in."

Nathan stepped inside, but just as Haley was about to close the door, the pizza man came up on the steps. Exchanging her money for the pizza, Haley thanked him before going back into the house. When she entered the living room, she noticed that the air had changed completely.

Tense. Tense, that was what it was.

Before she could utter a word, Ryan abruptly stood up and curtly announced, "I'm leaving."

"No, Ryan, wait—" she began.

"We can talk about this later, Haley," he said tersely. "Just not now."

And she could say nothing more as she watched him leave. Then, slowly turning around, she met up with Nathan's unreadable face.

"Uh, pizza?"she said nervously as she offered him the box.

- - -


End file.
